The Grenada gazette., 1887-11-05
MONKEYS ON WIRES,
Sems q tho Trials Of Tai.
Employed in vslaph Linen

mo Trials Of Telegram -,
=. hmpisyed in Yucatan" I'n'nsa
Picture to yourselve, a a.
lmpenetrable vegetation, u;,h ;iThan,,y Il
to palms and plantains, with With ,geS ,s,san'
90 dense that it is hard wos. n,h lunglss
a.1 stout and sharp maclete t,' to mst. m'sA :
path through them, coun,,n NJ MAKE as
tense heat. Of innumerablo bn,.s mo. s,.,l Of In.
and ticks, and malaria, and I1a,'Sss snas'.
and vegetation that grows mn nm II snasss u ,
to . height that interferes with vi ~ -. q, q,
Dol Dor OF Of man. Such are some na,t, 'rs ~ !.
u inc Mexican State Of Yucatan,p pn% ans o. }!
IS through such regipns that tbs sla ,a,l u
graph which connects the Msvis.' sIv isls
capital with important points aa'Saa Ike saa
Juan. Bautista or San Cristoh.l l' ,s'aa, 0aa
penetrate. This is country vSssa lus'
the linemen 60 in couples. and arms; uu's
with rifles to fight off the + sar'' ~.s
''puma" or Mexican tiger ft;nsps aets
who assaults man and is espee;al1. SS,Is
ravenous for telegraph constructors' @
Linemen are often attacked bv . tha..
formidable beasts, whose stuffed sl;.. sli''
one sees in museums in the cit, [ =.
Mexico. No, I should not want ~ ~ "
counter a puma if l were alone and M. m
armed. 1t would be of no use I to tsh. ah,
to a tree. for the puma would srs sa'
there, too. and he can shin up a tsIs' H.
graph pole with neatnes, and Al.
patch. The Mexican linemen down Wv =
tho hot coast country shoot manv !,
puma while out attending to thai,
lines '
A scarcely less formidable aDt,co.
mist is found In the monkey tribe wSo
inhabit the jungles and chappara] oi
Tabsco. Literally the "woods ara full
OF then" Their favorite diversion
when not in quest of food. is to betak.
themselves to the telegraph line for
gymnastic exercises, and linemsn as.
sert that often one hundred able.bodied
monkeys may be seen swinging on III,
wire. or festooned, monkey-fashion, bv
looping their tails. The continuou,
vibration of these forest gymnast,
starts the iron nails used on the cross.
arms, and these often come down.
esinging the wire with them.
e And 1t Is not a safe matter to unden
take to disperse these robust monksu
who play the dickens with the tels-
graph lines in the sparsely inhabited
State Of Tabasco. Linemen have
found that on shooting monke,
swinging on the wire they have been
pursued by whole regiment Of mon,
keys, who. with stones and nuts have
pelted them severely. ut is no jok.
(no es 0romo)." said a lineman recent.
ly. 20 have . tribe Of monkeys pur.
sue one; they are very strong (nu,
fuertes). and can hit with stone or q
stick in fashion to make man howl
with pain, a thing the monkeys enjoy
hugely. They keep up an incessani
chattering when pursuing us, and The
noise is enough to frighten one out oi
his wits" Here is q point for tele.
graph linemen in the United states to
consider when offered a position down
In the Mexican hot lands. Ole should
be monkey proof. and a coat Of mail
would be = very good protection
did not the heat Of the coast climate
mako it impracticable. "Monkeyine
with the telegraph" is a phrase which
Mexican lineman can appreciate.
And not to monkey with monkeys he
has found to be a safe rule il he wants
10 keep a whole bone in his body. Il
may we'll be imagined that when
wire gets down in the hot country that
It's no small affair to pick it up again.
'or. what with fighting tigers, mon.
Keys and mosquitoes. not to mention
he cheerful jigger or borer who works
bis way under ones skin and sticks
here, the business 10 not at all
one. and may be safely
recommended to youthful readers who
ire dreaming OF the Mayne Reid sort
i adventure in tropic lands. Cor
Boston Herald